secretary

See also: Secretary

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin secretarius (“one entrusted with secrets”), from Latin secretus (“private, secret”), past participle of secernere (“to separate, set apart”), from se- (“apart”) + cernere (“to separate”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈsɛk.ɹəˌtə.ɹi/, /ˈsɛk.ɹə.tɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈsɛkɹətɛɹi/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

secretary (plural secretaries)

  1. (obsolete) Someone entrusted with a secret; a confidant.
  2. A person who keeps records, takes notes and handles general clerical work.
  3. (often capitalized) The head of a department of government.
  4. A managerial or leading position in certain non-profit organizations, such as political parties, trade unions, international organizations.
    Ban Ki-Moon was a secretary general of the United Nations.
  5. (US) A type of desk, secretary desk; a secretaire.
  6. A secretary bird, a bird of the species Sagittarius serpentarius.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Verb

secretary (third-person singular simple present secretaries, present participle secretarying, simple past and past participle secretaried)

  1. (transitive) To serve as a secretary of.

Quotations

  • For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:secretary.

Further reading

  • secretary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • secretary in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • secretary at OneLook Dictionary Search
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